The present invention relates to remote monitoring of a device in general and, in particular to remote monitoring of a device via a mesh network.
Advances in communication networks and electronics, and decreases in the cost of the components therein, have made the remote monitoring of devices become increasingly widespread. Often, devices may be connected to a local area network, and equipped with sensors or other readers which monitor and report status and usage over the local area network. However, this can be limiting because the monitored device may be a mobile device or may be remote from a network connection. Many such monitoring techniques may also be susceptible to a single point of failure. Also, many networks have security features or limited operation hours that may prevent monitoring at certain times.
Although wireless solutions may provide an alternative, they typically require that the communications be transmitted through a service provider (e.g., via pager, cellular, etc.). However, service provider charges may increase the costs in such implementations. In light of the foregoing, it may be desirable to have flexible remote monitoring systems and methods that leverage diverse monitoring networks and are less susceptible to failure.